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THE SURVEY RESULTS
1. Are you currently pursuing an environmental education or career? If so, what environmental discipline is your focus?
- 25% identified themselves as focused on "Environmental Science" or Environmental Management"
- 14% identified themselves as focused on "Water Resources," "Water Quality" or another water-oriented field
- 13% identified themselves as focused on "Environmental Engineering"
- 11% identified themselves as focused on "Environmental Education"
- 10% identified themselves as focused on "Environmental Conservation"
- Other popular disciplines included Environmental Restoration, Environmental Policy, Environmental Studies, Air Quality Management and Environmental Planning.
2. What are the three most important factors you considered (or are considering) when choosing your environmental education (undergraduate, graduate and/or training)?
- 39% listed "Curriculum" or something related to the courses offered
- 28% listed "Location"
- 24% listed "Job Placement Opportunities" or something related to getting a job
- 19% listed "Faculty Experience" or "Faculty Abilities"
- 19% listed "Program Reputation" or "Ranking"
- Other common responses mentioned Internships, Program Length, Personal Interest, Flexibility in Scheduling Classes, Challenge and Class Size
Some specific comments, which may be helpful:
"(I'm looking for) a program that allows me to interact with people who are very good at what they do… and are very interested and committed to doing it."
"I look for programs and opportunities where Environmental Education and the Social Sciences meet. I believe that this is a critical place to develop right now."
"Does the program point in the right direction, meaning… the same goals I do? Does the program focus on the environment? Do the people care about the environment and what's around it? Also… does the city like the environment and environmentalists?"
3. What have been the most important tools you have used in your search for an environmental education or career.
The Internet was by far the top tool used by respondents in searching for an environmental education or career - which stands to reason, since this was an on-line survey! More than 90% of the respondents listed it as their primary tool. Said one respondent: "The Internet has been invaluable. I cannot begin to describe where I would be without it."
Direct Contact with the schools or employers was the second, with the Print Media close behind. Counselors or Agencies was a distant last.
4. Ideally, our respondents would most want to work for:
- 38% for a nonprofit organization
- 30% for a consulting firm
- 18% for government agency
- 15% for a company or corporation
5. Has EnviroEducation.com helped you in your search for an environmental education or career? If so, then how?
Since EnviroEducation.com is a relatively new web site, most respondents (64%) said that they hadn't used it enough to judge whether the site would be helpful in their search for an environmental education or career. Another 13% said that it was not useful for their immediate needs. However, 23% said that they had found it very helpful, and here's what some of them had to say:
"I've found that EnviroEducation.com is one of the most comprehensive environmental sites on the Internet."
"I haven't gone thru the entire site yet, but so far just *finding* this site has been helpful!!"
"It has definitely helped. It is the most comprehensive list I have come across."
"I JUST discovered this site, and I am SO EXCITED to explore."
6. What have you found to be the most useful part of our site?
With regard to the most beneficial aspect of EnviroEducation.com, 58% of respondents said that the Search Engine was the most useful. Said one:
"Search engines are often under-rated aspects of a web site. A site with a good search tool is great. Some sites that I have visited don't even have a very good site index, let alone a good search tool."
The articles and interviews were ranked as the best site aspect by 26% ("They give me great hope and enthusiasm for the next generation of environmentalists," said one respondent), and 10% liked the Rainbow chapter pages best.
Others mentioned the free book, connections with the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) and career information as the best part of the site.
7. What could we add to or change about the site to make it more useful for you?
This question generated the most comment and some great ideas about how we can improve the site - which is exactly what we were hoping! Of the responses, a whopping 55% were related to expanding our sections on careers, jobs and internships - far outpacing the next most-often mentioned topic. Some comments:
"(You need) more job and internship listings. Also more interviews with people in various environmental fields: Why they got involved in their career/job, when, where, what they got out of it, where they want to go, etc. I am eager to hear about as many experiences as possible, so that I can start to understand more which I am drawn to."
"It would be great if we could post resumes on the site so that interested companies could view them. Posting on Monster.com or JobsOnline.com is not as helpful as this site would be because of its specific target audience."
Based on these and many other responses we've gotten, you can expect:
- More environmental job, internship and training listings and postings
- The "Area of Study" search option will allow you to search schools by major or field of interest
- More detailed profiles of the programs in our database to include data such as tuition, faculty specialties, academic rankings, and class size
This is still just a start, though. We're committed to leadership in helping you search, compare and apply to environmental education programs at all levels including: graduate, undergraduate, certification, career training and recreational learning. And beyond this, we want to offer you the best resources on the web for finding your ideal environmental job and career.
8. Would it be beneficial for you if we could put schools, universities, training centers, or employers in direct contact with you based on a form you would complete on-line?
Only a few respondents didn't like the idea of schools and/or employers contacting them based on an on-line form. So.... We're now developing an automated system that will allow environmental schools and/or employers to contact you with valuable information about themselves, based on what you say is important to you. Keep an eye out for this in the coming months!
In the words of one respondent: "There are many jobs and opportunities out there, but, even with the Internet, it's hard to know everything."
How true…
9. Have you ever contacted a group like The Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) to help you in your search for an education and career? If not, would you consider it now?
Ninety-two percent of our respondents were not aware of the services offered by ECO. But 99% of these people stated that they would consider using ECO to help them in their pursuit of an environmental career. Many more were very enthusiastic about the new contact, using multiple exclamation marks; respondents went on to say things like:
"I am finding that getting a job is something that requires support and help. Even if I only receive a small amount of help, it would make me feel less alone and overwhelmed."
"There is such a lack of consulting or advisors in my school who know what direction to go, in terms of an environmental career. Yes, I would definitely consider (contacting ECO)."
"It would be a shame to not even know about good environmental careers."
10. Demographics.
The average respondent was 27 years old, most likely to be a female graduate student. Here's the breakdown:
- Age: Respondents ranged from 16 to 51, with 62% being between the ages of 21 and 30.
- Sex: 54% of the respondents were female; 46% were male.
- Job/Education level:
- 27% were graduate students
- 20% were undergraduates
- 10% were environmental business owners or managers
- 9% were unemployed or not currently an environmental professional
- 7% were naturalists or employed in environmental education
- 6% were high school students
- 6% were research assistants
- Other occupations included microbiologist, chemist, geologist, environmental consultant, and career advisor.
WRAP-UP
Again, we hope to do promotions like this again to continually keep our finger on the pulse of what our users consider most important. In the meantime, please use our "Feedback" features on every page of our site to let us know how we can improve our service and provide you with the best roadmap possible that will lead you to a fulfilling environmental career.
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Compiled by Ward Allebach, Editor
